Chromebook Printing, Solved.

Understanding the PaperCut Mobility Print Flow

The End of Google Cloud Print Was Just the Beginning

When Google Cloud Print was deprecated, managing printing for thousands of ChromeOS devices became a critical challenge. PaperCut Mobility Print bridges this gap, providing a secure, simple, and powerful print server solution that integrates directly into your existing network.

The 6-Step Print Journey

This flowchart visualizes how a print job travels from a user's Chromebook to the physical printer, all managed by PaperCut. This entire process is implemented with structured HTML and CSS, requiring no SVG or diagramming plugins.

1. User on ChromeOS Device

A user presses Ctrl+P in the native Chrome print dialog.

2. Mobility Print Extension

The deployed Chrome extension captures the job after the user selects a published PaperCut printer.

3. Network Transmission

The job is sent securely (encrypted) over the local Wi-Fi/LAN.

4. Mobility Print Server

Receives the job from the Chromebook.

5. PaperCut NG/MF Server

Authenticates user & applies rules (Quotas, Find-Me).

The Mobility server queries the main PaperCut server to enforce all print policies.

6. Physical Printer

Once approved, the Mobility Server spools the final job to the printer.

Key Components Explained

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Mobility Print Server

This is the workhorse. It's a service on your network that discovers local printers, publishes them, and listens for incoming jobs from all BYOD devices, including Chromebooks.

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Chrome Extension

This lightweight extension is deployed to all ChromeOS devices via the Google Admin Console. It allows the Chromebook to discover the Mobility Print server and see its printers.

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PaperCut NG/MF Server

Your existing, central PaperCut server. It remains the "brain" of the operation, managing user accounts, quotas, reports, and secure print release (Find-Me) rules.

Works With Everything

The best part? The same Mobility Print server that handles your Chromebooks also provides native printing for all your other BYOD devices. These icons are simple Unicode characters.

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ChromeOS

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Windows

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macOS

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iOS

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Android